Indian designer Anand Jon sentenced for 59 years in prison

Los Angeles, Sept 1 (PTI) Celebrity Indian-American
fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander was Tuesday sentenced to
a minimum of 59 years in prison by a court here for preying
upon seven young aspiring models as young as 14 and sexually
assaulting them.

Rejecting Jon's motions for a fresh trial, Los Angeles
Superior Court Judge David Wesley announced the judgement,
saying there were no new grounds for granting such a motion.

35-year-old Jon, who was acting as his own attorney,
showed no reaction as the Judge said he should be incarcerated
as long as possible for preying upon young girls and women.

Jon stared ahead blankly as Judge Wesley handed down
the hefty sentence and his victims wept in the jury box.

He was convicted in November of 16 counts including
including rape, sexual battery and performing lewd acts on a
child. Jon was found not guilty of four felonies, and jurors
could not reach a verdict on three counts.

"Jon has showed no remorse for his actions," Wesley
said. Jon also faces similar charges in New York and Texas
where he has been indicted.

Judge Wesley said Jon must serve 14 years in state
prison -- before he begins to serve a 45-year-to-life
sentence. He was denied bail while he prepares his appeal.
Soon thereafter Jon was immediately remanded to the custody of
the state Department of Corrections.

The designer has been featured on the television show
"America's Next Top Model" and worked with such celebrities as
Paris Hilton and Mary J Blige.


Earlier, Jon used most part of his defence to attack
juror Alvin Dymally, who had reached out to his sister
Sanjana, in an apparent attempt to woo her or to offer his
assistance in influencing jury deliberations in his favour.

Jon called Dymally a "poisoned apple" and a "renegade,
runaway juror" who possibly wrecked his chances for freedom.
He also blasted investigators, saying they had done a poor job
and did not provided all the evidence to him.

Kerala-born Jon presented a lengthy argument saying he
should get a new trial because of juror and prosecutorial
misconduct, and inadequate defence by his former attorneys.

At one point in the case, Jon called his mother Shashi
Abraham to the stand. Appearing as a witness, she told the
court how Dymally had made casual; passing contact with her
during the trial at one point reassuring her that Jon was
innocent and he would be set free.

"Under Young's cross-examination, Abraham said she did
not alert authorities early on about the contact because she
was afraid," reported Steven Mikulan on LA Weekly Blog, who
was present inside the court proceedings.

Mikulan wrote Jon's speeches, except for one detour
into tears, were delivered in a loud, clear voice.

"I'm not perfect, but I'm not guilty," Jon, who was
dressed in a dark suite with his long black hair tied in a
ponytail, was quoted as saying.

A bevy of beautiful women who said Jon sexually
assaulted them filled the jury box. Some of them cried as the
sentence was read by the Judge.

"I was 14. You took my adolescence, my trust, my dream
and completely manipulated them for your sexual desires," one
of the women was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times.

"It sickens me that a grown man can do such a thing to
a girl," the now 17-year-old girl said. "A girl who was naive
and had the belief that all people were good. And you took
that to your advantage."

Prosecutors said the crimes started in 2001 when Jon
set up a fashion design business through which he lured
would-be models to Los Angeles. The police got involved in
March 2007 after a woman said she was sexually assaulted at
his Beverly Hills apartment.

Jon graduated from the prestigious Parsons School of
Design in New York and launched a fashion line in 1999. He was
selected by Newsweek magazine as one of the world's most
successful South Asians in 2004. PTI ZH
ANU